Harry Hay

In 1950, in the midst of America’s most conservative decade, Harry Hay started the Mattachine Society, the country’s first successful gay liberation organization. Harry’s ideas would become the guiding principles of the US gay rights movement.

Harry began his activist life in the 1930’s fighting for worker’s rights in the labor movement. Soon after meeting fellow activist Will Geer, Harry became an active member of the Communist Party and a celebrated Marxist teacher. While later abandoned by most activists, at that time the Party was on the cutting edge of social change in the US. As fellow activist Frank Pestana says, “They were fighting for workmen’s comp, job security, medical care, social security - all the things that we have now.”

It was Harry’s experience organizing in these activist movements that gave him the tools he needed to create a secret, underground homosexual organization in Los Angeles. In a climate of extreme oppression, Mattachine provided enough safety and security for homosexuals to gather together and take steps towards their own liberation. The Mattachine Society would eventually spread to major cities across the country.

Decades later, in 1979, as the gay rights movement began losing its edge, Harry and three others called for the first Spiritual Gathering of Radical Faeries, reaching out to activists across the country. This first gathering launched a movement of Radical Faeries that is now active across the US and around the world. Radical Faeries often meet in rural areas, offering an alternative to mainstream queer culture. Radical Faerie sanctuaries now exist in the US, Canada and Europe.

Harry continued his social change work until the very end, speaking out, organizing, and inspiring a new generation in the fight for justice and equality. Harry passed away in 2002. (HarryHay.com)